DPP politicians in possible tussle over Kaohsiung poll

Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing was supposed to call a press conference Thursday trying to rebuke the results of a “fake public opinion survey.”

He canceled it at the last minute reportedly after Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen telephoned him to “express concern.”

Yang is believed to be ready to challenge the results of a survey conducted by his fellow DPP member, Chen Chu, who heads the Kaohsiung City government.

The survey reportedly gives Chen higher ratings than Yang.

They are seen to be in the running for the top post governing a new Kaohsiung that will be formed from the merging of the city and county next year.

Yang, canceling the press conference, said he only wants a fair contest.

The Kaohsiung County chief's attempt to wage an early war on his city counterpart has prompted much criticism from his DPP fellows.

Many of them have expressed concerns over possible damning effects on the party's chances in next month's local elections.

DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying said Yang is “a bit narrow-minded” for mounting infighting when the real battle has yet to begin.

The DPP has always encouraged members to speak freely, but they need to see whether the timing is right, Chiu said.

It is no time for Yang to demonstrate his showmanship, which would undermine party unity, she added.

Another DPP legislator, Chen Chi-Yu, said internal unity is imperative in the run-up to next month's elections.

Chen said Yang is making a fuss out of nothing and he hopes the DPP chief can intervene.

Many public opinion surveys have shown that the Kaohsiung mayor is “slightly” more popular than the county chief, the legislator said.

Reelection of Kaohsiung County's top administrative post had been scheduled to take place next month along with the local elections in most other areas.

But the decision to merge the city and county into a new special municipality under the Cabinet has resulted in the delaying of the election to the end of next year.

Kaohsiung City, along with Taipei City, is already a Cabinet-level special municipality.

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